Lady Tanuki and her second Red arrived next, both willowy and tall, genuinely happy to see everyone. Their House seemed so… happy. I envied them just a little.
Last to arrive was Grizzly and Ursa with a small contingent, which made sense since they’d have come the farthest to get here. Grizzly didn’t look at anyone really, just seemed vaguely dangerous as he took his seat. Ursa stood next to him. She didn’t acknowledge me. We had to keep our association a secret, for now.
And then… we began.
“We call this Council of Nobles to order,” Merlin called out in a clear voice. I couldn’t help but grimace at her usage of the royal “we.” Queen Whitewing had never used it. “Our beloved queen was slain by a betrayer, and a new king or queen must be selected. We also have, as our special guest, the King of Vauphan, who has seen the might of Elista and wishes to sue for peace.”
That was interesting wording. It definitely made it sound like Elista had the upper hand, when in truth the war was a stalemate at the moment.
“The King offers his hand in marriage should we choose a queen. And if we should choose a king, his daughter shall marry our king’s first son.”
Wait what? Daughter…? Why had she not said ‘children?’ Why so specific?
Do you think she knows?Auwei asked.
How could she? Unless… she’s the one who’s seen the future?
That sent just a bit of a chill through me.
Less than a week ago, Auwei, with her intimate connection to my body, had informed me I was pregnant… with a girl… Alvere’s child. This child wouldn’t be recognized by Vauphan as a legal offspring of the King of course, but still…
I couldn’t help but put a hand to my stomach. The inadvertent reaction of my armor was to peel away, allowing me access to my spider-silk. Many eyes in the room caught the movement, and I quickly put my hand at my side once more. That had been a mistake.
Merlin continued, “Since this is a time of war, We wish to invoke the seventh codex, which states that the current ruling house will remain in power during times of war, even if the king or queen is killed. Their second shall take their place until such time as the war is concluded.”
“And the war is concluded,” Skyfire said quickly. “The king’s presence here is indication enough of that. I do not accept your invocation.”
That caused a few murmurs around the room. Still the new head of House Panther seconded the motion and a vote was held, but no other Nobles voted in favor.
I was a little surprised by this.
Auwei, as always, was there to help me understand.This doesn’t mean the others don’t want Merlin to be queen, it only means they are agreeing with Skyfire that the war is concluded and the seventh codex won’t be a factor. It means they want to hear arguments for and against certain members first, before they make their choice. Even if there are those who are already on Merlin’s side it behooves them to vote against this, so as to look impartial when they vote for the next monarch.
That made sense.
“Then We shall hear nominations and arguments,” Merlin said, smiling just a little too contentedly. She thought this was all going according to her plan. I certainly hoped that wouldn’t be the case.
Almost before Merlin had stopped speaking, the new House Panther leader spoke up in a tremulous voice. “I nominate Merlin of House Owl!”
There were a few chuckles in the room.
Auwei assisted me again.She spoke out of turn. The first step in any meeting like this is always for each House Leader to re-introduce themselves and THEN state any nominations. As a new House Leader, she would undoubtedly go last. Merlin should speak first.
Merlin smiled. “Thank you, Lady Margay,” Merlin said as she rose. “I am Lady Merlin of House Owl. First, with the leader of my house recently deceased comes the choice of a new name for my House. I choose to respect our previous and illustrious queen and keep House Owl.”
A bold move, not claiming the House title for herself. It makes her look modest, though perhaps weak as well. Interesting. Auwei was quite caught up in all this intrigue. I just wanted to survive today and come out of this with a new king or queen, I didn’t much care who, just not Merlin.
“As the new leader of House Owl, We formally denounce house Maverick and the so-called successor House Spider. We seek to remove them from the lists of Nobles. We also nominate ourselves for the next queen. House Owl has ruled well for thirty years and We know We can continue that noble tradition.” She looked over at Alvere, her gaze sliding over me. She smiled, but her expression bore no kindness, just… possession and greed. “We will happily marry King Alvere and produce for him an heir who would rule our combined kingdoms.” She sat again slowly, gracefully. She didn’t even offer arguments for why she should be queen. That’s how confident she was that she’d already won this battle.
We’d see.
Skyfire rose next. “I am Lady Skyfire of House Wyvern.” She walked forward into the roughly circular open space in the middle of the room. She took a long moment to look around at each Noble. What I found most interesting was how she included me in that group. Her gaze held mine for a long moment, not Alvere’s, mine. That was a quiet nod to my right to be a House Leader, very interesting indeed. When she spoke, her voice was hot and impassioned, as she was with all things. “I see no solid proof of the betrayal of House Maverick and its successor House Spider,” she said, voice carrying. “I have heard rumors and hearsay, but no proof has been presented to me. So, upon the question of removing House Spider from the lists I delay my vote. If any here has evidence to present. Do so.”
Well, that wasn’t a huge vote of confidence, just a delay. But it was something.
“On the question of the new monarch…” Skyfire paused, holding the room’s attention in her palm and milking every moment of silence. “I nominate Lady Silvermane of House Pegasus.”
The room murmured for a long moment at this. Silvermane, despite having a powerful house, was still one of the younger and newer leaders. She wasn’t even thirty, and her house was only eight years old. Compared to some of the others that made her very inexperienced.
